Tipperary South candidate O'Heney says vote he achieved represents 'remarkable progress'

Councillor John O’Heney described the close to 4,000 votes he received in the General Election as “remarkable progress” for a first-time Independent from a rural area in such a short period of time.

The Lattin councillor was the seventh candidate eliminated in the race, bowing out after the third count having reached 3,978 votes. He secured 3,692 first preferences.

He surprised many in June when he topped the poll in the Cashel-Tipperary Local Electoral Area in his first county council election contest.

Based on this meteoric rise, it was speculated in the run up to the General Election polling day that he was a likely contender for the final seat in Tipperary South.

In the end it was not to be. The final tally results showed that well over 3,200 of his first preferences came from the Cashel-Tipperary Local Electoral Area. Cllr O’Heney was just not well-known enough by the constituency’s electorate outside of west Tipperary.

As he is a councillor just over six months, it’s not surprising. It takes years to build up a political profile across a constituency, particularly if you are an Independent without the backing and resources of a big political party behind you.

The vote he attracted in his first attempt at winning a Dáil seat is considered very respectable in that context.

In a post published on his Facebook page on Monday, Cllr O’Heney said his first six months in politics had been “hugely enjoyable and extremely busy”.

“This weekend we received almost 4,000 votes in a General Election.

“It is remarkable progress for a first-time Independent candidate who hails from a rural area, in such a short period of time,” he wrote.

“I would not have been able to achieve any of this without the support of my family, friends and my amazing team, who all worked so hard this year.

He looked forward to helping the people of Cashel-Tipperary District and throughout the county over the remainder of Tipperary County Council’s current term.

Cllr O’Heney pointed out that he funded his campaign from his own pocket and competed against candidates with much greater resources at their disposal.

“My main motivation to run so soon was that I wanted to do all I could for the betterment of our wonderful county Tipperary,” he added.

Cllr O’Heney congratulated the winning candidates and wished Martin Browne of Sinn Féin who lost his seat the very best for the future.

“It is disappointing to see that west Tipperary has no TD in the next Dáil term, but I am sure our new deputies will do a great job for the entire constituency.”

Indeed, political pundits had expected Browne as a west Tipperary candidate would benefit more than his closest rival Seamus Healy when O’Heney’s votes were distributed in the Fourth Count and that his transfers would possibly increase Browne’s lead sufficiently to take the third seat.
But instead the Clonmel candidate got 39 more transfers than Browne from O’Heney’s votes. This left Healy in a stronger position to stay in the race for the final seat.